A Worth-the-Visit Hospitality School Restaurant

Chowhound veteran Jerome recently took one for the team and tried The Restaurant at Kellogg Ranch, the restaurant run by Cal Poly Pomona's Collins College of Hospitality Management. The verdict: "Pretty great," Jerome says.

Jerome's $12 lunch of buttery sand dabs came with amandine green beans and enough capers to keep him happy. The surprisingly large portion of wild mushroom ravioli was $11.

You can also get a side of their "prize-winning chili," which has a nice story behind it. As the tale is told, once a year, the first-year students hold a chili cookoff during one of their classes, and as the prize, the winner's recipe is featured on the next year's menu. "I liked the idea - I also liked the chili," Jerome says.

The building is beautiful, and the décor is modern, with views overlooking the canyon. "Surprised how good it was, how pleasant the room [was], and if I were in the area, [I] would definitely go back," Jerome says. "Certainly worth a stop if it fits into a trip, say the drive to Vegas or Palm Springs or Joshua Tree or some such."

They also serve Dr. Bob's HandCrafted IceCreams as a tribute of sorts, youngc explains. Dr. Bob, you see, was actually the founding dean of the Collins College of Hospitality, and created the ice cream while working as a server there.